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PikachuSalad

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Shortening this up...

Will a 4x54W T5 fixture with individual parabolic reflectors in a 4 foot 55 gal tank be too much light to grow coralline algae on live rock?

I don't want to spend a bunch of money on nice live rock only to have it look sandblasted in the end...(I'd just buy the cheaper stuff!)
 

SnowManSnow

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I dont think it will be too much light, if thats what youre asking. your main concern will be CA. Personally, I'd dose with B-Ionic.. and let that be the end of it.

Make sure you have a good LR covered in coraline to start the process quicker. I've even seen ppl scrape off chunks of it and superglue (gel glue) it to a rock to seed the rock.

Good luck with it!

Let us all know how it works out.

B
 

PikachuSalad

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OK, thanks.

Where this came from...was a post (lost the link, sorry), where someone was complaining about his two tanks that started with the same live rock and use the same limewater for topping off, but the one with the good lighting (big MH) has LR that is devoid of any coralline, while the tank with not-as-good lighting (NO tubes) has LR that's covered with it...

I know 4 T5 tubes is not a lot of light compared to a couple 250 W MH bulbs (for instance), but since I'm new to reef tanks...I just wanted to make sure...before I spend a bunch of money on "premium" live rock - only to end up with killing off all the coralline...

:)
 

ChrisRD

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Upstate NY
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I think you'll be fine. IMO it's somewhat dependent on what lamps you're using, but with good Ca/Alk levels and some initial coralline to seed the tank (normally present on decent live rock) it's just a matter of time.

Although I have no first hand experience with T-5s, I can tell you that IME fluorescent lighting (I've used NO, VHO and PC) grows coralline much faster than a halide-only setup. When it comes to halides, IME bluer/dimmer lamps grow coralline more readily than the really bright/white lamps.

JMO & HTH
 

jay24k

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I have 750 watts of MH over my tank and my back glass in 3 weeks will become a solid sheet so imo, it won't even be close enough to stop corraline from growing.
 

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